Aikido or Ju Jitsu?

[Mauthos]

Having studied many different martial arts before I settled with Kenpo I am now on the look out for something new due to the fact that since I have started teaching I do not have as much time to train myself as I once had.

Simply, I am looking for something different to Kenpo, something that I can start to train in for myself, learn something new etc.

Therefore, near where I live is a Aikido class and a ju jitsu class (Zankiido-Ryu Ju Jitsu not BJJ). Now, the normal answer to the question which one should I try would be answered by try them both and see which instructor you prefer.

However, I know both instructors very well, having trained with them both over the years, and I am torn as to which one to choose, so really my questions is, which one would compliment my Kenpo the best.

Thanks for any advice/help that people may be able to give.

 

[oaktree]

Zankido seems to be not the best choice if you are
looking for Japanese jujutsu. With that said
You should try to find a jujutsu school that either is koryu
or is an off shoot but still keeps the techniques without being to strange. You can
Try judo which is very popular.

 

[SuperFLY]

It really comes down to what you're after in a martial art?

Grappling/rolling around on the floor or wrist lock and throws?

I found aikido helped my karate no end, giving me a better understanding of my core strength/using my hips to their fullest and giving me a wide array of options when performing bunkai. its a good art to know, really helps you understand not only where you can generate stability and strength but understanding the weaknesses and geometric limitations of your body.

that said, and this is a personal thing, im actually getting a little bored of it. i've been going over a year and a half and im losing motivation for it. i think i'm only still going as i do it with a friend and we kinda push eachother to go. id like something a little more hands on so i was thinking of looking at going to judo instead. a lot of throws and takedowns i do in karate have roots in judo so it makes sense to see the more pure form.

personally im not interested in jujitsu but i can appreciate the decision you're trying to make.

as said, all comes down to what you want to get out of it/what style you prefer.

suppose the best thing to do is to go to a couple of classes of each and see what you like best.

im grading for my karate shodan in 2 weeks but after that i intend to go to a judo class local to me and see if i like it.

 

[K-man]

I think that both are good systems for cross training. Personally, I took up aikido to complement my karate and it has fulfilled all my expectations. It does however take several years of training before it starts to become instinctive within your karate training. The problem with jujutsu, at least within my circle of friends, is that joint injuries are very common.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

well, I dont know that style of Zankiido-Ryu Ju Jitsu, but I'm a ke(m)po guy, and a bunch of my friends, including myself cross train at a bunch of different judo/ju jitsu places, and it has really rounded us out. (different ones because we're all in different colleges, not because we're super picky about judo instructors lol)

 

[Bill Mattocks]

We get a little dose of some Aikido as well in our training, and I also think it complements our Isshin-Ryu training very nicely.

 

[Xue Sheng]

What is Zankiido-Ryu Ju Jitsu? I have never heard of Zankiido-Ryu

 

[Mauthos]

To be honest, I am not that sure myself, it is the style that an old training partner teaches and to be honest I am not sure that it is not his instructor (Chad Sidewick) that may have named/founded the art.

All I am really aware of is from my novice status regarding Jujitsu, what my friend teaches seems very effective and useful.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to respond though. It has helped me no end and I will be trying both out this week.

Thanks again.:ultracool

 

[punisher73]

Many of the original kenpo techniques (through the lineage of SGM Parker) were influenced by Danzan-Ryu JJ. I think that would be a good fit for your kenpo since they do more fluid striking with circles and lines.

I know you know both instructors, but pick one and see which one starts to feel better to you right off the bat with how your body moves from it's previous training. If a style has completely different body mechanics/feel and flow to it, then it will not be easy to integrate to what you already do. When I studied Aikido for a short time, I found that it did NOT flow well with my karate even though certain moves could be applied (for example, a wrist lock is a wrist lock, but the dynamics aikido used to get there were too different for me).

 

[Chris Parker]

Having studied many different martial arts before I settled with Kenpo I am now on the look out for something new due to the fact that since I have started teaching I do not have as much time to train myself as I once had.

Simply, I am looking for something different to Kenpo, something that I can start to train in for myself, learn something new etc.

Therefore, near where I live is a Aikido class and a ju jitsu class (Zankiido-Ryu Ju Jitsu not BJJ). Now, the normal answer to the question which one should I try would be answered by try them both and see which instructor you prefer.

However, I know both instructors very well, having trained with them both over the years, and I am torn as to which one to choose, so really my questions is, which one would compliment my Kenpo the best.

Thanks for any advice/help that people may be able to give.

Okay, let's see how we go.

It really comes down to what you're after in a martial art?

Grappling/rolling around on the floor or wrist lock and throws?

I found aikido helped my karate no end, giving me a better understanding of my core strength/using my hips to their fullest and giving me a wide array of options when performing bunkai. its a good art to know, really helps you understand not only where you can generate stability and strength but understanding the weaknesses and geometric limitations of your body.

that said, and this is a personal thing, im actually getting a little bored of it. i've been going over a year and a half and im losing motivation for it. i think i'm only still going as i do it with a friend and we kinda push eachother to go. id like something a little more hands on so i was thinking of looking at going to judo instead. a lot of throws and takedowns i do in karate have roots in judo so it makes sense to see the more pure form.

personally im not interested in jujitsu but i can appreciate the decision you're trying to make.

as said, all comes down to what you want to get out of it/what style you prefer.

suppose the best thing to do is to go to a couple of classes of each and see what you like best.

im grading for my karate shodan in 2 weeks but after that i intend to go to a judo class local to me and see if i like it.

The main thing I'd like to point out here is that, when it all comes down to it, Aikido is a form of Japanese Jujutsu, just a specific subset of it. And it's very rare for Japanese Jujutsu systems to involve "rolling around on the floor". Just so you know.

What is Zankiido-Ryu Ju Jitsu? I have never heard of Zankiido-Ryu

To be honest, I am not that sure myself, it is the style that an old training partner teaches and to be honest I am not sure that it is not his instructor (Chad Sidewick) that may have named/founded the art.

All I am really aware of is from my novice status regarding Jujitsu, what my friend teaches seems very effective and useful.

Thanks to everyone that took the time to respond though. It has helped me no end and I will be trying both out this week.

Thanks again.:ultracool

Right. Zankido Ryu is definitely the creation of Chad Sidawick, apparently some 25 years ago (he claims an 8th Dan in the system), but I can't find much (read: anything at all) about Chad's training before that. From all descriptions, videos, photos etc, it's not something that leaps out at me as being much of anything, really.. their "history" on their website is little more than a rather inaccurate overview of Jujutsu itself (most of what is written there is frankly wrong), and nothing at all about where their approach comes from. Really, it just looks like a generic, partially karate, partially judo, not much really kinda system, with a range of non-Japanese weapons in the mix. For something a bit more credible, I'd go with the Aikido.